Free Never Love a Cowboy by Lorraine Heath Page A

“Did she do the same to your brother?”
    He released a mirthless laugh. “To the heir apparent? To the boy who would become the man who decided where she lived and what her allowance would be once Father died? Of course not. I, on the other hand, was of no value except for the pleasures she found in torturing me.”
    “Did you tell your father?”
    “I tried, but I’d made the mistake of crying while I listened to the rats and waited for them to feast upon me. A serving girl discovered me when she went to the cellar to fetch some of his favorite brandy. He overlooked my mother’s transgressions and focused instead upon my red, swollen eyes. After that, he fancied me a popinjay and would have nothing to do with me.”
    “But you were only a child—”
    “A male—even one as young as I was—does not cry. Ever. An earl’s son is never a child. He is born a man.”
    Shuddering, Jessye longed to wrap her arms around him, but she feared his reaction. His voice carried noemotion. His body was coiled tighter than a snake’s. Little wonder he knew nothing of love.
    “Did she ever take you to the cellar again?”
    “Ah, yes,” he replied as though no other answer could exist. “Our journey became a weekly ritual. Even when I stopped telling her that I loved her.”
    “How could she do that to you?”
    He slid his gaze to her. “Haven’t a clue. I rather suspect she might have been insane.”
    Taking a deep, steadying breath, she touched her fingers to his cheek, holding his gaze. “She was insane. No mother would have done such a horrid thing to her own child—to any child. A mother’s love—”
    He shifted his body so quickly that she nearly fell backward. Facing her directly, his emerald eyes were hard as stone, his face set in rigid lines. “Yes, Jessye, tell me all about a mother’s love. Explain to me how a mother could abandon her child.”

Chapter 5
    “L ooks like you had a rough night,” Jo Beth said. “I know sleepin’ on the floor can be hard on a person. We should have offered you our bed—”
    “Don’t be silly,” Jessye said as she held the bundle of joy within her arms. She hadn’t slept after Harry had asked his accusatory question. A bed wouldn’t have made any difference. She’d asked herself the same question a thousand times in the passing years, but the words coming from him had hurt her more than she would have thought possible. “A new mother needs all the comforts she can find.”
    “Well, I sure don’t know what I woulda done if you hadn’t happened along,” Jo Beth said as she eased out of bed.
    Jessye stroked the child’s soft hair. “You would have managed.”
    “Not likely. My Pete’s a good man, but he worries something fierce.”
    Jessye smiled at the woman. “Appreciate that he does. Most men don’t.” She handed the child to her mother.
    “You oughta think about staying until the weather warms,” Jo Beth said.
    Jessye settled her hat into place. “It’ll warm up in a day or so, and we’ll be that much closer to finding the cattle.”
    “You watch that fella you’re traveling with. I think he has an eye set on you.”
    “He has his eyes set on my money.” With that honest truth nipping at her heels, Jessye strode from the house.
    She saw Harry talking with Pete near the saddled horses. Although Jessye had protested, Jo Beth had insisted they take some of the canned goods from her pantry. Jessye slung the saddlebags over the horse’s rump before mounting. “Come on, English, we’re burning daylight.”
    Grinning broadly, Pete took a step toward Jessye. “Did Jo Beth tell you we was naming the baby after the two of you? Jessica Harriet.”
    Jessye felt the tears sting her eyes. “I’m honored. It’s a right fine name. I hope the world always treats her kindly.”
    Harry slanted his gaze toward her. They held no warmth for her. They were as cold as those of the rattler that had curled on his chest. “Pete said he saw unmarked cattle to the